ArbCom election results announced
On Thursday 10 December, the three scrutineers for this year's Arbitration Commmittee election—Wikimedia stewards Mardetanha, Shanmugamp7, and Einsbor—announced the results, a little more than three days after the close of voting. The nine new arbitrators, who will take up their roles on 1 January, are Opabinia regalis, Casliber, Keilana, GorillaWarfare, Drmies, Kirill Lokshin, Gamaliel, Callanecc, and Kelapstick (all two-year terms but for Gamaliel, who will have a one-year term). Three have already served terms on the Committee (Casliber, GorillaWarfare, and Kirill Lokshin); two current arbitrators who stood for election—Thryduulf and LFaraone—were unsuccessful. Five retiring arbitrators did not seek re-election: Euryalus, Seraphimblade, Roger Davies, AGK, and NativeForeigner. A graphical representation of the Committee's membership from 2014 to 2018 appears on the election page.
There were several notable features of the election, related to the much larger number of voters. A remarkable 2674 editors participated, nearly five times that for last year's election (Figure 2); this means that an astonishing 53,480 voter choices were made—a total of 2674 voters × 20 candidates. The sole apparent reason for this precipitous increase was the posting of notifications before the election to all eligible voters' talkpages. Embracing a much larger part of the eligible electorate was associated with a huge rise in the proportion of neutral votes, since this attracted many voters on the periphery of the traditional core of ArbCom-interested editors: last year, 35% of votes cast were neutral; this year, 50% were neutral. Figure 3 shows the breakdown of supports, neutrals, and opposes for the past seven elections (starting with the introduction of Securepoll in 2009). Over the years, the contour of the grey bars (proportion of neutral) is similar to that of the number of voters (Figure 2).
Related to the surge in neutrals was a slight drop in the proportion of supports (from an average of 30.0% to 28.8%), and a major drop in opposes, from 34.8% to 21.3%; it is unclear why this should have been associated with the broadening of the electorate, and readers may be able to provide further interpretations of this phenomenon. So much was the drop in opposes that, unlike last year, there were significantly fewer of them than supports.
Another consequence of surge in voter numbers was a reduction in raw proportional support for the most popular candidates. Last year, the top four candidates were supported by between 50% and 60.5% of voters; this year, the top four were supported by just over 40% of the electorate, and the other successful candidates ranged from the high 30s down to 27.6%.
Community members have provided interesting and informative tables and graphs on the election talkpage. Among these are one showing the distribution of voters' edit counts over the past three elections, prepared by Opabinia regalis, and a table of the alignment of each voter guide with the result, prepared by Smallbones.
The Signpost's editor-in-chief Gamaliel was a candidate in the election. In line with our conflict-of-interest policy, he was not involved in any way with the preparation or writing of this article. Mdann52 serves on the Signpost's editorial board and has just been appointed as a trainee ArbCom clerk, but was also not involved in this story.
Brief notes
- Community mourns passing of Wikimedia Serbia founder: Wikimedians on Wikimedia-l report that Branislav Jovanović (BraneJ), a founder and board member of Wikimedia Serbia, has died. Wikimedians are posting tributes on his user page in Meta.G
- Philippe Beaudette joins Wikia: Philippe Beaudette (Philippe (WMF)) has joined Wikia as their Senior Director of Community. Wikia, a for-profit wiki hosting company whose wikis include a number of popular pop culture websites like the Star Wars wiki Wookieepedia, was founded in 2004 by Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley Starling, a former member of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. Beaudette worked for the WMF in various capacities since 2009 and announced he would be leaving the post of WMF Director of Community Advocacy in September (see previous Signpost coverage).G
- Oversight permissions removed: Deskana and Ronhjones have had their oversight permissions removed due to inactivity. As well, DoRD has resigned from both oversight and checkuser teams. The Committee has restored checkuser rights for Beeblebrox.GP
Wikidata: Knowledge from different points of view
Political editing in the context of the US presidential primaries
Digital Trends reports (Dec. 10) on political editing in the context of the presidential primaries in the United States.
| “ | The United States is currently in the grip of a presidential primary, meaning people are looking for impartial information on the parties and politicians involved. Wikipedia will be the go-to source for a great swathe of this knowledge. But who's writing these entries, and for what purpose? It turns out, both ends of the political spectrum are making their voices heard—a process that can distort the truth. | ” |
The article, written by Brad Jones and titled "Beneath every presidential candidate's Wikipedia page lies a vicious tug-of-war", discusses editing at the Bernie Sanders article and features comments from Calidum, one of many editors to have contributed to that Wikipedia biography.
| “ | The run of the mill vandalism I see everyday isn't that big of an issue to me, because it's quickly dealt with," Calidum [says]. "Sometimes I even laugh at it before reverting it." But there's another kind of edit that's a more serious concern to upstanding users like him.
"The bigger issue for me, and I would assume many editors, though I can't speak for them, is people who use Wikipedia to push a certain agenda or engage in battleground behavior. Those are not as frequent as vandalism, but far too common," Calidum tells me. "And, while the community has ways of dealing with vandalism, its ability to handle point-of-view pushers and similar problematic editors is lacking. |
” |
Jones says he got in touch with Calidum because of a particular edit to the Sanders biography made by an account named Autoerotic Mummification, since indefinitely blocked as a sockpuppet of Grundle2600.
| “ | As you may well have guessed by now, Grundle2600's political views tend to the right. [...] There are no doubt plenty of trolls who visit Wikipedia solely for the purpose of vandalism. Grundle2600 doesn't seem to be part of that contingent. He's clearly making edits that he believes are useful, and isn't swayed by the Wikipedia community's point of view. | ” |
Jones then moves on to the question of what oversight there is on Wikipedia, quoting James Alexander, manager of Trust & Safety at the Wikimedia Foundation, and Juliet Barbara, the Foundation's Senior Communications Manager.
| “ | James is one of 280 paid employees on the books of the Wikimedia Foundation. Their job isn't to decide what sort of content ends up on the site. Instead, it's to ensure that the platform provides an open and neutral space for its community, who are then free to shape its output for themselves. [...]
Of course, there are systems in place should things get out of hand. "We probably get one or two threats of harm per week," James told me. He's part of a group of staff members who can be contacted at any time about a serious situation, whether he's at his computer or fast asleep in bed. But such situations don't include routine edits. The Wikimedia Foundation is keen to wash its hands of any decision-making that influences what sort of viewpoint is represented on the site. To maintain true neutrality, it's crucial that the community is trusted to police itself. |
” |
Juliet adds that Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee is there to handle conflicts between editors and that undisclosed paid advocacy is another issue—though one that seems to have become less prevalent in party politics:
| “ | The fact that it's so obvious means that it's no longer a viable option for political parties. "They're trying to help explain to their candidates and their members the right way to do it," James continues, without mentioning a particular party by name. "They're getting better." [...]
But what about Grundle2600, who's spent seven years being told that his edits don't fit the bill? Is he a dedicated editor trying to ensure a balanced view, or a political missionary looking to enforce his agenda? That depends on who you ask—and it's the reason the war to mold Wikipedia won't end as long as the site exists. |
” |
- Predictable results: The National, which recently branded Scottish LibDem politician Alistair Carmichael a "liar" on its front page, gleefully reports (Dec. 11) on a Wikipedia edit that changed the description of Carmichael's interests to "lying, lying, lying, lying, lying, lying, lying, lying, & lying." Although the edit was automatically tagged as "Possible vandalism, repeating characters", it lasted three hours before being reverted. The article has since been put under Pending Changes protection.
- Rush fan: CBC News is intrigued (Dec. 11) that there is apparently a Rush fan in the Canadian government, based on IP edits reported by a Twitter bot.
- Don't fall for Wiki-denial: An article by Elizabeth Farrelly in the The Sydney Morning Herald argues (Dec. 9) that "there's nothing wrong with using Wikipedia. After 15 years and some 37 million articles it's time to admit that we all use Wikipedia, and it's good [...] as an exercise in the leaderless, collaborative and largely anonymous pursuit of scholarly excellence, Wikipedia also possesses an astonishing beauty."
- Wikipedia—giving Deepak Chopra a rough deal? The Huffington Post features an article (Dec. 8) by Ryan Castle on editing at the Deepak Chopra biography, claiming—as did an earlier article by the same writer—that tendentious editors are unduly biasing the biography against Chopra: "Since the first article was published about Wikipedia's dishonest biography on Deepak Chopra and the online harassment that surrounds it, three major developments have occurred. First the Wikipedia editors involved dramatically increased their condemnation of Dr. Chopra, and secondly they harassed the writer of the article across Wikipedia and the internet. Given that this was precisely the behavior they were being critiqued for, these consequences were predictable." Castle lists and links five common talk page arguments at Talk:Deepak Chopra which he feels are "misleading and/or biased", along with his counterarguments. Castle is founder of the Integrative Studies Historical Archive & Repository, an initiative of the Chopra Foundation.
- Wikimedia fundraising: Nonprofit Quarterly reports (Dec. 7) on the ongoing Wikimedia fundraising drive in an article titled "Fundraising at Wikipedia: Enormously Effective, But ..." The International Business Times, too, has an article on the matter (Dec. 5), titled "Wikipedia fundraising drive: Should you donate money to the Wikimedia Foundation?"
- Where are Wikipedia's Latinos? El Tecolote reports (Dec. 3) on the comparative lack of Latinos in the Wikipedia community in an article also republished (Dec. 7) in Latina Lista. "There is a scarcity of American Latinos who write and edit for English Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute and participate. How serious a problem this is, it's difficult to say precisely; the Wikimedia Foundation does take semi-annual surveys of its editors and administrators [Ed. note: The author is mistaken on this point—no general editor surveys have been run since 2012.], but it does not collect statistics related to their ethnicity. [...] When Wikipedia did its first survey in 2011 of people who write and edit its articles, an angry storm ensued when it was revealed that only 9 percent of Wikipedians were women. But there was no such outcry over the lack of other underrepresented groups."
Wiki Loves Monuments 2015 winners
So do you laugh, or does it cry?
Singer Scott Weiland (#1) who died this past week wrote many cryptic lyrics, including "So do you laugh or does it cry?", in 1994's "Interstate Love Song". And things that either make us laugh or cry are the things that tend to dominate this Report every week. But aside from Weiland's death, the Top 10 is entertainment-dominated this particular week.
For the full top-25 list, see WP:TOP25. See this section for an explanation of any exclusions. For a list of the most edited articles of the week, see here.
For the week of November 29 to December 5, 2015, the ten most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Scott Weiland 
1,149,112 
The former lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota on December 3, likely the result of a drug overdose. Weiland was an unabashed rock star-type who came out of a 1990s grunge-era that was very ambivalent about 70s rock glamour. Sadly, Weiland's long history of drug use made his death not terribly shocking to many. 2 Tyson Fury
1,076,733 
On November 28, the British professional boxer defeated Wladimir Klitschko (#14) in a match held in Düsseldorf to become the unified heavyweight champion. This ended Klitschko's reign, the second longest in heavyweight history. 3 Lucy Maud Montgomery
1,063,021 
The author of Anne of Green Gables was honored with a Google Doodle on her 141st birthday on November 30. 4 Facebook 
1,057,020 
Always a popular article, but rarely this high on the chart. Founder Mark Zuckerberg's (#18) recent announcement that he planned to give away 99% of the gazillions he has earned from giving us the ability to "like" posts about internet memes and keep informed of the insane racist rantings of your distant relatives likely caused the view bump this week. 5 Jessica Jones
914,281 
Down from #1 last week, a drop of a million views. The Netflix series based on this Marvel Comics superhero, starring Krysten Ritter (pictured), debuted on November 20, 2015, and, like its predecessor, Daredevil, shot to the top of this list. Pandemic binge-watching of the latter among MCU fans led to a rapid decline in interest, as everyone scoffed down the entire season in two days. This series seems to be fairly slightly better, at least here. 6 Krampus 
842,714 
As Yuletide falls in the German-speaking regions of the Alps, children are told not only of jolly Saint Nick with his sack of toys; they are also told of Krampus, whose sack is empty, waiting to be filled with naughty children who will then be carried to his lair. He isn't the only "anti-Santa" out there; the Dutch have Zwarte Piet, and the Haitians have Tonton Macoute, but Krampus's demonic appearance caught the eye of America last year, where he became a leering antidote to the oversaturation of manufactured Christmas cheer, and this year, it seems he's back, no doubt aided by an upcoming movie. 7 Jessica Jones (TV series)
830,756 See #5 8 Google
787,850 
Ironically, it can be hard to google Google to figure out why Google is especially popular in a given week. When I googled "Scott Weiland" (#1), for example, I immediately learned he was dead. Last week Google had only 252,348 views (#80 on raw WP:5000). The only edit of note to Google during this week was a link to Project Fi, which looks like Google's plan to provide cell phone service primarily using Wi-Fi networks. 9 Kobe Bryant
659,062 
On November 29, the American basketball star announced that he will be retiring at the end of the current NBA season. This means that every time he plays in a city for the final time on his "farewell tour" (a disambig article that seems ripe for expansion?), it will be a minor news story. 10 Adele
631,753 
"Hello, it's Adele, if you're wondering, after seven weeks yes I'm still here." And will no doubt stay in the Top 25 for a bit longer.
Sports, ships, arts ... and some other things
Text may be adapted from the respective articles and lists; see their page histories for attribution.
Featured articles
Eight featured articles were promoted this week.
- The 2006 Subway 500 (nominated by Z105space) was the thirty-second stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, before a crowd of 65,000. The 500-lap race was won by Jimmie Johnson of the Hendrick Motorsports team, after he started from ninth position; Denny Hamlin finished second, and Bobby Labonte came in third.
- The 2015 Vuelta a España (nominated by Relentlessly) was a three-week Grand Tour cycling race and the 70th edition of the competition. It took place principally in Spain, although two stages took place partly or wholly in Andorra, and was the 22nd race in the 2015 UCI World Tour. The 3,358.1-kilometre (2,086.6 mi) race included 21 stages, beginning in Marbella on 22 August and finishing in Madrid on 13 September.
- The Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers (nominated by Sturmvogel 66) were built for the Imperial Japanese Navy in the late 1930s, and completed shortly before the start of the Pacific War in 1941. With the exception of the Battle of Midway, they participated in every major naval action of the Pacific War. Both members of the class, Shōkaku and Zuikaku, sunk in 1944.
- The Battle of Kalavrye (nominated by Cplakidas) was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine imperial forces led by Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Dyrrhachium, Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder. The two armies clashed at Kalavrye. Komnenos, whose army was considerably smaller and far less experienced, tried to ambush Bryennios's army. The ambush failed, and the wings of his own army were driven back by the rebels. Alexios himself barely managed to break through with his personal retinue, but succeeded in regrouping his scattered men. At the same time Bryennios's army fell into disorder after its own Pecheneg allies attacked its camp. Reinforced by Turkish mercenaries, Alexios lured the troops of Bryennios into another ambush through a feigned retreat. The rebel army broke, and Bryennios himself was captured.
- Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret (nominated by Iridescent) is an oil painting on canvas by English artist William Etty, now held in Tate Britain. Intended to illustrate the virtues of honour and chastity, it depicts a scene from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene in which the female warrior Britomart slays the evil magician Busirane and frees his captive, the beautiful Amoret. Despite being a depiction of an occult ritual, a violent death, a near-nude woman and strongly implied sexual torture, Britomart Redeems Faire Amoret was uncontroversial on its first exhibition in 1833 and was critically well received.
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (nominated by Darkwarriorblake) is a 2004 action role-playing video game developed by Troika Games and released by Activision. Set in White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness, the game is based on White Wolf's role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and follows either a male or female character who is killed and subsequently revived as a fledgling vampire. The game depicts the fledgling's journey through 21st-century Los Angeles to uncover the truth behind a recently discovered relic that heralds the end of all vampires.
- Sheshi (nominated by Iry-Hor) was a ruler of Egyptian areas during the Second Intermediate Period. The dynasty, chronological position, duration and extent of his reign are uncertain and subject to ongoing debate. The difficulty of identification is mirrored by problems in determining events from the end of the Middle Kingdom to the arrival of the Hyksos. Nonetheless, Sheshi is, in terms of the number of artefacts attributed to him, the best attested king of the period spanning the end of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate period; roughly from 1800 BC until 1550 BC.
- SMS Kaiser Barbarossa (nominated by Parsecboy) was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class. The ship was built for the Kaiserliche Marine, and was constructed at Schichau in Danzig. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turrets. She served with the German navy from her commissioning in 1901, though her active career was limited by two lengthy stays in dry-dock. She was decommissioned in 1909 and placed in the reserve division. Following the outbreak of World War I, Kaiser Barbarossa was mobilized as a coastal defense ship, but she saw no combat during the war, and due to a shortage of crew, the ship was withdrawn from active duty in 1915 and relegated to secondary duties (first as a torpedo target ship and later as a prison ship). Following the end of the war in 1918, Kaiser Barbarossa was decommissioned and sold for scrap metal. The ship was broken up in 1919–20.
Featured lists
Two featured lists were promoted this week.
- Lionel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio (nominated by SchroCat) Lionel Barrymore (1878–1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He also directed several films, wrote scripts and composed music. He began his film career in 1911, appearing in numerous silent films, before appearing as a character actor in short film in 1912, and moving into feature-length productions in 1914. Barrymore began writing scripts and directing films shortly afterwards. Although he had several successes on Broadway, after he encountered strongly negative criticism of three 1925 productions in a row, he never again appeared on stage. Despite breaking his hip in 1938, Barrymore continued to act in films until 1953.
- Natalie Portman filmography (nominated by Cowlibob) Natalie Portman (born 1981) is an actress, producer, and director with American and Israeli citizenship, who has appeared in 41 films, five television episodes and two documentaries. Portman made her film debut in Léon: The Professional, where she starred as a vengeful child assassin, but gained international recognition by portraying Padmé Amidala in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Featured pictures
Tech news in brief
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